Case Number 21238

CHAWZ (BLU-RAY)

The Charge

Opening Statement

Don't trust your first impressions when you set eyes on this disc:
Chawz is not a horror movie. It is a comedy. And a surprisingly
funny one at that. Until...

Facts of the Case

In a set-up not dissimilar to Hot Fuzz, we meet an over-achieving cop
in the big city of Seoul who's dispatched to a reclusive, rural town that enjoys
next to no crime. However, on the eve of the town's major tourist event, some
strange killings begin going down across the countryside. A bit of investigating
reveals that an unnaturally large wild boar has taken to the taste of human meat
and is chowing down on any hapless, juicy passerby he may run across.

The Evidence

Chawz has the ingredients of a run-of-the-mill creature feature and
the disc case marketing appears to encourage that impression. But it won't take
you long to realize that this enterprise is as tongue-in-cheek as it gets. From
the opening moments, when nearly every member of the disorganized town police
force rolls down a hill and lands in the crime scene to our first introduction
to our protagonist's overbearing, pregnant wife and mentally unstable mother
straight to the appearance of Chawz himself in all of his alpha male boar glory,
nothing is ever taken seriously. Not even the gore, which is relegated to
after-the-fact prop work played for laughs.

Even though this is not a creature-fueled horror outing, props need to be
offered up to the Chawz creation. He's virtually all CGI, and though the tech
may not up the levels of ILM, I found the effects to be successful. Like the
game-plan dictates, Chawz is hidden from our view for the first half of the
film, but he makes a grand entrance at a hilariously awkward rap concert
arranged by the town. We get eyefuls of the creation running amok and causing
damage and it's all pretty believable. Sure, a mutant wild board isn't as sexy
as a Chevy Camaro that transforms into a robot from space, but for the purposes
of this film, I hereby award a big fat gold star to the Chawz
animators.

Alas, as much as I got on board with this in the beginning, a major impasse
presented itself, ultimately emaciating the fun: the runtime. Chawz
clocks in at a shade north of two hours, which is thirty minutes too long. It's
a saggy runtime too, with disposable side stories woven in that fail to amuse
and only pad the clock. What made the film so nifty was its energy and oddball,
quickfire humor. This is largely neutralized by the 70 minute mark, leaving only
the anticipation of the requisite Final Monster Face-Off to keep the interest
level out.

Too bad. Twenty minutes in, I was ready to proclaim the glory of
Chawz to the heavens. Now, I can only give it a half-hearted
recommendation and mainly for its oddity factor.

Gorgeous Blu-ray from Magnolia, anchored by the high-end 1.85:1, 1080p
transfer, a case-study in how to treat an import -- as bizarre as this one may
be -- with reverence. The detailing pops from the screen and the boar effects,
the most susceptible to a dodgy appearance in boosted resolution, even look
great. The impressive picture quality is augmented by a crisp, well-mapped 5.1
DTS-HD Master Audio mix (English and Korean). Extras: an hour-long, multi-part
making-of featurette (in SD, unfortunately), deleted scenes, bloopers and a
Q&A at the premiere.

Closing Statement

My surprise and delight were eventually neutered. You were close guys.